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THE SERPENT OP BRASS 



THE 



BRAZEN SERPENT, 



FAITH IN CHRIST ILLUSTRATED. 



By JOSEPH H. JONES, D.D. 
u 




PHILADELPHIA : 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 

No. 821 CHESTNUT STREET. 



/#*- 



6Vf57/ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by 

THE TRUSTEES OF THE 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District 
of Pennsylvania. 

STEREOTYPED BY WESTCOTT & THOMSON. 



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THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 



CHAPTER I. 



We read in the twenty-first chapter 
of the book of Numbers, that when 
the Israelites had been bitten by fiery 
serpents, Moses made of brass an 
image of this serpent and put it on a 
pole, and then whoever looked to this 
brazen or dead serpent was cured of 
the bite of the living one. There is 
something very astonishing here. In 
the history of diseases and remedies 
there is nothing like it, and had it 
not been explained to us by him who 



4 THE BEAZEN SEEPEjSTT. 

appointed it, we should be just as 
much perplexed to understand it as 
the Jews are. They cannot imagine 
why Moses should have been in- 
structed to cure his dying brethren 
by such a simple thing, which, if it 
affected them at all, would be pre- 
sumed to make them worse. The 
very last object at which a man, mor- 
tally wounded by a poisonous serpent, 
would wish to look, or from which he 
would expect relief, would be an 
image of the creature that had bitten 
him. To explain this wonder, and 
help us to see the use of it to us as 
well as to them, I will first recount 
what Moses did to heal his suffering- 
brethren, and then tell you why Grod 
directed him to do it, in this particu- 
lar way. 



THE BRAZEN SEEPENT. 5 

Most of my young readers, I pre- 
sume, are familiar with the remarka- 
ble history of the children of Israel 
in Egypt ; of the way in which they 
were brought out of it ; and of their 
wandering forty years in the wilder- 
ness. If those of you who under- 
stand geography, will take some good 
map of this region which has the way 
the people travelled marked out upon 
it, you will see that, although they 
travelled probably more than a thou- 
sand miles up and down in this desert 
country, yet the distance in a straight 
line is less than three hundred. They 
were now come to Mount Hor, and 
had they been permitted to go for- 
ward in a direct course, their way 
would have been short. But to this 
the king of Edom would not consent, 
1 * 



6 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

as they would have gone across his 
territory. This was very provoking, 
because it compelled them to travel 
back the very way they had come 
several days, and through a country 
that was extremely rough and dreary. 
It is not at all surprising that the 
people should have been greatly vexed 
with this most perverse and disoblig- 
ing king, who had given them so much 
needless trouble; but it was not to 
be helped. He had a right to forbid 
them, and it was their duty to sub- 
mit. So they turned about and fol- 
lowed the pillar of cloud and fire ; but 
with such an angry and rebellious 
temper, that they murmured not 
against Moses only, but against Grocl. 
" Wherefore," said they, " have ye 
brought us up out of Egypt to die in 



THE BRAZEN SEKPENT. 7 

this wilderness?" It was this un- 
grateful, outrageous spirit which was 
punished by these fiery serpents. 
Why they were called fiery serpents 
we do not know. Some think it was 
because of their bright red appearance 
which made them look like fire ; 
others because the bite of their fangs 
caused an agony like that produced 
by fire. 

Different writers give us very mar- 
vellous accounts of the various kinds 
of serpents found in Africa. There is 
one species of a yellow colour, proba- 
bly resembling the brazen serpent 
made by Moses. Another serpent 
found there is about nine inches long, 
w r hose bite is incurable. An ancient 
Greek historian mentions a kind ex- 
isting in these parts called liydri, that 



8 THE BEAZEX SEKPEOT. 

had wings like a bat with which they 
flew out of Arabia into Egypt, where 
the bird ibis killed them, for which rea- 
son this bird was held in great ven- 
eration by the Egyptians. This is 
supposed to be the " fiery flying ser- 
pent" mentioned by the prophet 
Isaiah xiv. 29 ; and perhaps it is the 
one described by Moses. Persons 
who have crossed this desert within a 
few years, say that there are still 
scorpions and venomous serpents 
here in great abundance. Hence it 
is thought that God did not now 
create these fiery serpents, but turned 
upon the Israelites those already ex- 
isting there ; just as he uses floods, 
fire, hurricanes, cholera, and plague 
to punish the wicked when their sins 
call for such special judgments. The 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 9 

j>anic caused by these deadly crea- 
tures was dreadful. How many were 
destroyed by them we do not know, 
but in every instance the bite was 
mortal. Nothing which they could 
do was sufficient to save them. The 
poison infused by the sharp tooth of 
the reptile soon got into the blood, 
was diffused over the whole body, 
and the poor sufferer died in the most 
dreadful agony. And what could 
they do ? It was vain to try to fly or 
hide from these serpents, and as no- 
thing that man could propose would 
bring relief, they are forced to look 
up to God. Humbling as it was to 
their pride to come to Moses whom 
they had so lately reproached and in- 
sulted, yet there was no other source of 
hope. Their punishment had brought 



10 THE BEAZEN SEBPENT. 

them to reflection and repentance ; with 
the most submissive spirit, therefore, 
they came confessing their sins, and 
entreated him to " pray unto the Lord 
that he would take away the serpents 
from them." Their conduct had great- 
ly grieved Moses, but did not make 
him angry, much less revengeful, and 
without delay he asked Grod to par- 
don their sin and deliver them from 
the judgment. The Lord heard the 
prayer and gave them relief, but he 
sent it in a most remarkable manner. 
Had he seen fit he could just as easily 
have turned the serpents from the 
Israelites, as he had turned them to 
them. Surely, he who made the crea- 
ture and gave it power to crawl, fly, 
or bite, could direct its movements 
without any other means than his own 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 11 

willing it. But instead of command- 
ing these serpents to depart, as he 
governs the winds, the waves, and 
the lightnings, he chose to let them 
remain among the people, but pro- 
vided a remedy which might render 
their bite harmless. 

As I have said, he told Moses to 
make of brass a serpent resembling 
in appearance the one that was so 
fearful, and " to set it upon a pole," 
and it would come to pass that every 
one who should be bitten, would be 
immediately cured by looking at that 
brazen image. Now, my dear children, 
in all your reading, have you ever met 
with a story more truly astonishing 
than this. Dr. Doddridge says, that 
" Job the celebrated African assured 
him that when in his native country, 



12 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

he once saw a live cow carried away 
in the mouth of a serpent ;" and in 
the Repository of the Royal Society 
at London there is preserved a ser- 
pent about twenty-three feet long. 
Some of you, perhaps, have read of 
the great serpent that attacked the 
army of Regulus, the first invader of 
Africa from Rome. This monster 
was so large and powerful that for a 
while it set the whole Roman forces 
at defiance. The account is, that it 
seized with its mouth and devoured 
many of the soldiers, and killed more 
by the blows of its tail. This, you 
know, was a great while before they 
used guns or cannons in war, and 
gunpowder was not invented till near 
three thousand years afterwards. As 
their arrows would not penetrate its 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 13 

skin they resorted to their balistce, or 
instruments for throwing huge stones, 
by which it was crushed. But after 
it was killed the whole vicinity was 
so infected by the evil odour of its 
enormous carcass, that they were com- 
pelled to remove their camp to an- 
other place. This is a wonderful 
story, and is, no doubt, exaggerated, 
but the account of these loathsome 
creatures mentioned by Moses, and 
of their attacking the camp of Israel 
in this fearful manner is far more 
w r onderful, and yet true. 

But even this is nothing to excite 
admiration compared with the way of 
being cured of their bite. Why did 
God not give Moses power to heal them 
by a word, as he did the prophets and 

apostles who performed cures after- 
2 



14 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

wards ? Or why did he not direct 
him to means that would seem more 
natural and reasonable; such as the 
use of some medicinal herb that might 
be found in the vicinity of the camp ? 
or mention some drug — some plaster 
or poultice, perhaps ? God has ap- 
pointed these and other means in all 
ages and places by the emplo} x ment 
of physicians, who are only the Lord's 
instruments. Why did he depart 
from his usual course in this case, and 
especially in so astonishing a manner 
as to cure them by only looking to an 
image of the serpent raised on a pole? 
A question that not all the philoso- 
phers of the world could answer, had 
not the Saviour told us that it was 
done on purpose to be a picture of the 
way in which the wicked are saved 



THE BEAZEN SEEPENT. 15 

from sin. If you turn to the four- 
teenth and fifteenth verses of the third 
chapter of John, you will find this 
very explanation : " As Moses lifted 
up the serpent in the wilderness, even 
so must the Son of man be lifted up ; 
that whosoever believeth in him should 
not perish, but have eternal life." 
About fourteen hundred and fifty 
years after the lifting up of this ser- 
pent in the wilderness, there appeared 
in Judea an extraordinary person, who 
was known among other titles, by that 
of " the Son of man." This appella- 
tion is used with reference to him 
nearly one hundred times in the Scrip- 
tures, and is meant to show that 
though his actions proved him to be 
Grod, yet he was also a man. This, 
then, was one of the most remarkable 



16 THE BKAZEN SERPENT. 

parts of his character, that he was as 
really human as he was divine. He 
ate, drank, was weary and slept like 
a man, and yet he could open blind 
eyes, could raise the dead, and had 
power to create like God. But an- 
other distinguishing trait was his per- 
fect freedom from sin. In all his life, 
of more than thirty years, he never 
did anything that was wrong. Yet so 
much was he hated by the Jews, that 
he had not been with them as a teacher 
more than three years, (some say only 
two,) when he was violently- seized, 
hurried into court for trial, and though 
Judas who betrayed him, Pilate* who 
judged, and one of the thieves that 
suffered with him, all declared him 
innocent, yet he was condemned to be 
crucified. Xow it is worthy of being 



THE BEAZEN SEEPENT. 17 

noticed here, that they selected this 
particular mode of punishment. The 
Jews used to hang their criminals by 
the neck, or stone them to death, burn 
them alive, throw them from a rock 
to be dashed in pieces, or into the sea 
with a weight around their neck. 
Some they beheaded, as seventy of 
Ahab's family or descendants were 
slain by Jehu's orders, and their heads 
sent to him in baskets. Sometimes 
they w r ere torn to pieces alive, and 
they had other cruel ways of putting 
them to death. But though cruci- 
fixion was very rare among the Jews, 
yet this mode was selected in the case 
of Christ ; and why? They preferred 
it, I suppose, because it was not only 
the most painful of all the modes of 
taking away life, but was likewise the 
2 * 



18 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

most shameful. Jesus Christ was so 
desperately hated by this people, that 
they sought to gratify their wicked 
hearts, by doing every thing in their 
power to inflict disgrace as well as 
pain. But there was a providential 
and more important reason lying back 
of this. Had Christ been put to death 
in any other way, it would not have 
fulfilled this type of the lifting up of 
the serpent in the wilderness. More- 
over, do you not recollect, children, 
how much better you can understand 
a truth when you have it pictured be- 
fore you, or have something that you 
can see ? For this reason, in study- 
ing geography, you have maps, on 
which are represented the cities and 
countries, the course and relative size 
of the oceans, seas, rivers, about which 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 19 

you are to recite. So in astronomy, 
you have globes and an orrery which 
exhibit the position and motions of 
the heavenly bodies. And if it be 
chemistry, you find it a great help 
not only to understand, but to enjoy 
the subject, when you have it illus- 
trated by experiments. Indeed, some 
of you would hardly believe the won- 
derful things that chemistry teaches, 
if you only heard and did not see 
them. How many of you, for instance, 
would believe, if a person were to tell 
you, that the glass of water which you 
drink is composed of two substances, 
and that eight parts, by weight, of 
one, are mixed with one part of the 
other to form it ; and although water 
is used to extinguish fire, yet one of 
the things that water is made of is 



20 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

the great supporter of fire, and there 
is no combustion without it. These 
two substances, which are invisible as 
air, the chemist puts together and 
burns, and thus forms the water which 
he will hand you to drink, when, but 
not before, perhaps, you will believe 
him. For a similar reason, we have, 
in the sacraments of the church, water 
in baptism, to signify our need of the 
purifying influences of the Holy Spirit; 
and bread and wine, in the Lord's 
supper, to remind us of the bod}^ and 
blood of Christ. They are pictures 
or symbols of these things. For the 
same purpose, Grod told Moses to cure 
the bitten Israelites by lifting up a 
serpent on a pole, in order to be a 
picture of Christ's saving you and me 
by his being lifted on a cross. Ob- 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 21 

serve that the image raised by Moses 
was only the likeness of a fiery ser- 
pent, and not a serpent in reality ; so 
it could be a type and picture of Christ 
who came, not in sinful flesh, but only 
" in the likeness of sinful flesh." 

But some of my young readers will 
say, We do not understand it, after 
all. We cannot see any resemblance 
between those poor Hebrews in the 
wilderness, bitten by the fiery ser- 
pents, and ourselves. We have not 
been bitten, and have no disease in 
our bodies that should make us afraid, 
or that gives us any pain. And even 
if we had, we do not think that we 
could be cured by looking to Jesus 
Christ. That is very true, children, 
in one sense; and your bright eyes, 
reel cheeks, and healthful looks are 



22 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

pleasant tokens that you are well and 
happy. But this is not all of the 
truth ; you are in health and full of 
joy and hope now, but it will not be 
always so. Many of the children w r ho 
read this little book have buried a 
beloved parent ; some have lost their 
mother, some have no father, and 
others have neither. In a few years, 
all of you, their children, will be called 
to follow them; and what is the cause 
of this? Why do not persons live 
for ever here, without becoming old, 
wrinkled, and gray-haired, and losing 
their strength, hearing, and eyesight? 
Why have people, in past ages, with 
but two exceptions, all gone out of the 
world by dying ? Why do they, soon 
or late, as certainly die as all the Is- 
raelites did who were bitten, before 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 23 

the lifting up of the serpent? Let 
us go to the apostle Paul for an an- 
swer. " By one man sin entered into 
the world, and death by sin ; and so 
death passed upon all men, for that 
all have sinned." Here, then, my 
dear children, you will see that sin 
has done the same thing for us, that 
the fiery serpents did for the Hebrews. 
It has made us all liable to the death 
of our bodies, and what is infinitely 
worse, to the everlasting loss of our 
souls. This is one point of resem- 
blance. 

Another, not less obvious and strik- 
ing, is the way of escape. As the Is- 
raelites could do nothing to save their 
bodies from death, neither can we do 
anything for the salvation of our souls. 
If left to ourselves, in spite of all our 



24 THE BKAZEN SEKPENT. 

works, we shall as certainly lose our 
souls as the Hebrews would have lost 
their lives. And in this we notice a 
second point of resemblance. We are 
like them in being utterly helpless. 

A third is, that as they obtained a 
cure by looking to the brazen image ; 
so do we receive salvation by looking 
to Christ. The Saviour does not use 
the precise words of Moses, and tell 
us to look to him, but he says, Believe. 
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in 
the wilderness, even so must the Son 
of man be lifted up ; that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish, 
but have eternal life." We see, then, 
that the great design of God, in adopt- 
ing this way of curing the bitten He- 
brews, was to teach us faith in Christ. 
Now, a great many people suppose 



THE BKAZEjST serpent. 25 

that this is a subject so obscure and 
hard to be understood, that it is never 
worth our while to say anything to 
children about it. But in this little 
story from the writings of Moses, as 
explained by the Saviour, it is made 
so plain that few, if any, children who 
are able to read, can fail to compre- 
hend it as well as their parents. 

And I would now ask my little 
readers three simple questions that I 
think they can nearly all answer, and 
which will show how far the story 
is understood. And first, What was 
there in the condition of the Israelites 
that made it necessary for Moses to 
lift the serpent on the pole? You 
tell me, at once, they were in such a 
dangerous state that multitudes would 
have died without it. This is correct; 

3 



26 THE BEAZEN SEKPEJSTT. 

you have given the true answer ; and 
this, let me tell you, is the first part 
of faith in Christ. It is to feel our- 
selves to be in such a deplorable state, 
on account of our sins, that we must 
perish without help. 

My next question is, Why did these 
poor, suffering Israelites look to this 
brazen image on the pole? Why did 
they not apply to their physicians, or 
try to cure themselves ? You tell me 
immediately, because they knew that 
they would die if they did, and that 
if they were healed at all, it must be 
done by turning their eyes to this 
brazen saviour. True, this is the 
very answer I wished you to give, and 
this is the second element of faith in 
Christ. It is a persuasion that if we 
are saved at all, our help must come 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 27 

from Christ; that "there is none other 
name under heaven given among men, 
whereby we must be saved." I think, 
then, you understood this part as well 
as you did the other. 

My third question is, What were 
their feelings and thoughts when they 
first lifted their eyes to the image? 
They felt persuaded, you answer, that 
if they looked, they would certainly 
be relieved, no matter how badly they 
w r ere bitten, or how desperate their 
bodily condition. Exactly so, children, 
and this very feeling makes up the re- 
mainder of saving faith. It is a con- 
viction, that if we do rely on Christ 
to save us, he is able, and willing, and 
ready to do it, the very moment we 
believe. This is faith; all about it 
that any of you need know; it is what 



28 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

any of you can know; and, let me 
add, it is what you all must know, or 
you will as certainly perish as the 
Israelites would have died, but for 
looking to the serpent. 

Some of you, perhaps, may inquire 
what became of this brazen image 
which the people had reason to re- 
member with so much interest? After 
it had served the special purpose to 
which it was appointed, it appears to 
have been laid up in some proper 
place, and carried with them into the 
land of Canaan. About seven hun- 
dred years afterwards, when idolatry 
prevailed to so great an extent in the 
time of Ahaz, it became an object of 
worship. But during the reformation 
under the pious Hezekiah, who was 
the son and successor of Ahaz, it was 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 29 

broken in pieces, and called by the 
contemptuous name of NehusMan, or 
brass bauble. Many princes would 
have hesitated at the destruction of 
that which was an interesting memo- 
rial of the remarkable transaction 
with which it w T as associated. But 
when it had become a temptation, and 
a source of evil to the people, the 
king saw that the well-being of the 
nation required it. Some modern 
Jewish writers tell us that it was 
held in great veneration by their an- 
cestors, not only because it had been 
an instrument of healing in the wil- 
derness, but because it was made by 
the hands of Moses. They, moreover, 
imagined that it might be of some 
service in a way of mediation with 
God, and worthy of worship as hav- 
3 * 



30 THE BKAZEN SEEPENT. 

ing some degree of divinity. To us 
nothing seems more revolting than 
the offering of divine honour to such 
a loathsome creature; and yet the 
worshipping of serpents under some 
form or other was one of the most dif- 
fused idolatries of the ancient world. 
The serpent held a conspicuous place 
among the idols of Egypt, where not 
only was its figure displayed in vari- 
ous idolatrous combinations, but the 
living animal itself was honoured as 
it is at this day in India. Mr. Drew, 
of Madras, says, that one day while 
at dinner he saw a woman with three 
children sitting near a large ant-hill. 
He sent a servant to ask what she 
was doing. She replied that she had 
come with her children to worship a 
coir a di ca^ello. a large serpent which 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 31 

had taken possession of the ant-hill. 
The hillocks raised by the white ants 
of India are sometimes three feet 
high, the interior of which is hollow 
and divided into cells like a honey- 
comb. When deserted by the ants, 
serpents often take possession and 
lodge there. It was a tenant of one 
of these forsaken hillocks which this 
deluded female had come to worship, 
having brought with her milk, cocoa- 
nuts, and incense to offer it. " She 
burned the incense, broke the cocoa- 
nuts, and falling down on her knees 
placed them w T ith the milk before the 
serpent. Her children at the same 
time kneeling behind her, paid the 
same homage to the poisonous rep- 
tile." 

In the second centurv of the church 



32 THE BEAZEN SEKPENT. 

there appeared a sect that received 
the name of Serpentinians, from their 
veneration for the serpent that tempted 
Eve, or, as some say, for that which 
was lifted on a pole by Moses. It 
was a part of their service to keep 
a live serpent in a cage, which at cer- 
tain times was opened, when at their 
call the creature crawled out, and 
twined itself about some loaves of 
bread, which were afterwards broken 
and distributed to the company. This 
was called the Eucharist. Such are 
some of the superstitions of later 
times, which are, perhaps, but a repe- 
tition of that idolatry which led the 
devout Hezekiah to destroy a memo- 
rial of mercy, which otherwise he would 
have been happy to preserve. It 
w r ould seem scarcely possible for any 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 33 

one not to perceive how exactly pa- 
rallel to this worship of the brazen 
serpent has been the superstitious 
veneration paid to sacred relics in the 
Romish church, and especially the 
adoration of the form, wood, and nails 
of the cross ; and Hezekiah's example 
fully authorizes the total abolition and 
disuse of every thing of that kind in 
religious worship. 

The only relics under the Old Tes- 
tament church were the pot of manna, 
Aaron's rod, and the brazen serpent. 
The two former were preserved by 
the appointment of God, but to guard 
against the abuse of them for super- 
stitious purposes, they were con- 
cealed in the Holy of Holies from 
popular inspection. The other being 
kept without a divine warrant, became 



31 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

an occasion of idolatry, until a pious 
king destroyed it with utter abhor- 
rence. 

And now, would it not make the 
book too long, I should like to men- 
tion some reasons for your looking to 
Christ at once. But this I will leave 
to your parents and Sabbath-school 
teachers, whose principal object in 
their instructions, is to imitate those 
believing Israelites who went among 
the sufferers, persuading them to look 
and be healed. Such also is the office 
of all who preach to you the gospel. 
It is to remind you of your dangerous 
state, by reason of sin, and of your 
safety in Christ. And now may I 
not feel assured that each of you can 
say that he knows the meaning of 
faith? It is to trust in Christ for 



THE EEAZEN SEKPENT. 35 

salvation from sin, as the Israelites 
did in the type for their safety from 
the bite of the serpent. May I not 
hope, moreover, that many of you will 
do it? Yes, beloved children, the 
morning of your days, when your 
feelings are so ardent, your hearts so 
warm and easily affected, is the easiest 
time, and the best, to believe on Christ. 
Xowyour sins are few, compared with 
w T hat they will be if you are spared 
to become aged. But perhaps some 
of you will object, that even if you try 
to look to Christ, you cannot do it, 
and it will be useless, therefore, to 
make the attempt. That is very true, 
if you make it in your own strength, 
but not if you have the assistance of 
Grod. And does some one feel dis- 
posed to inquire, Do you really think 



36 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

that if I sincerely ask God's help, it 
will be given ? 

I will answer his question by ask- 
ing another. Suppose, that on going 
to your father, you tell him your de- 
sire for some good thing which you 
know he is able and willing to give, 
a new garment, perhaps, a book, or 
anything else, do you think he would 
decline your request? Can you doubt 
that he would be more ready to con- 
fer the favour, than you are to ask 
it ? But if your parents take so much 
pleasure in giving "good gifts to their 
children, ho w much more," says Christ, 
"shall your heavenly Father give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?" 

Let us see with what simplicity and 
beauty your question is answered in 
the beautiful lines of Newton : 



THE BKAZEN SEKPENT. 37 

As the serpent raised by Moses 

Healed the burning serpent's bite ; 
Jesus thus himself discloses 

To the wounded sinner's sight : 
Hear his gracious invitation, 

" I have life and peace to give, 
I have wrought out full salvation : 

Sinner, look to me and live. 

< Pore upon your sins no longer, 

"Well I know their mighty guilt ; 
But my love than death is stronger, 

I my blood have freely spilt : 
Though your heart has long been hardened, 

Look on me, it soft shall grow : 
Past transgressions shall be pardoned, 

And I'll wash you white as snow. 

" I have seen what you were doing, 

Though you little thought of me, 
You were madly bent on ruin, 

But I said, It shall not be : 
You had been for ever wretched, 

Had not I espoused your part ; 
Now behold my arms outstretched, 

To receive you to my heart. 

" Well may shame, and joy, and wonder 
All your inward passions move ; 
4 



38 THE BEAZEN SEEPENT. 

I could crush thee with my thunder, 
But I speak to thee in love ; 

See ! your sins are all forgiven, 
I have paid the countless sum ; 

Now my death has opened heaven, 
Thither you shall shortly come." 

Dearest Saviour, we adore thee 

For thy precious life and death ; 
Melt each stubborn heart before thee, 

Give us all the eye of faith : 
From the law's condemning sentence 

To thy mercy we appeal, 
Thou alone canst give repentance, 

Thou alone our souls canst heal. 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 39 



CHAPTER II. 

Such, beyond a doubt, dear chil- 
dren, is the meaning and intent of 
this lifting up of the serpent in the 
wilderness. It was appointed of Grod 
to hold up a picture of great truths 
about Christ, almost fifteen hundred 
years before his appearance in the 
flesh. But in endeavouring to be 
brief, I have passed over some of 
them so lightly, that they may not be 
perceived so clearly, nor be so sensi- 
bly felt as their importance demands. 
If then, you will go with me a few 
pages further, I will refer to these 



40 THE BKAZEN SEKPENT. 

matters again, and explain a little 
more fully the sublime truths which 
this marvellous transaction among the 
Israelites was designed to teach. We 
read that the wounds caused by these 
serpents were incurable. There .might 
have been something in the tooth of 
these fiery serpents which made it 
more malignant than that of other 
poisonous reptiles. But the wound 
inflicted by the fang of asps, vipers, 
and other poisonous reptiles, has 
proved in all ages, generally fatal. A 
little delay in applying the remedy, 
has cost the sufferer his life. But 
the bitten Hebrew found no relief, for 
in every instance the victim died, un- 
less delivered in the way disclosed to 
Moses. The man's state was remedi- 
less from any human agency; by 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 41 

which the Holy Spirit would show us 
a representation of the desperate con- 
dition of man since the fall. To this 
the Saviour refers in the word perish, 
John iii. 16, which has not been al- 
ways understood. Thus some per- 
sons suppose it to mean that the con- 
dition of persons when they are dead 
is like that of the beasts. That thev 
really perish, soul and body together, 
and that death is the end of both. 
That they cease to live hereafter, just 
like an ox, or a sheep, or a dog. But 
this is not the Saviour's meaning, for 
though the body becomes lifeless and 
is dissolved like that of the brutes, 
yet its particles are not so scattered 
and lost, that the person to whom they 
belonged cannot be raised out of the 
grave and recognized and judged in 

4 * 



42 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

the world to come. It is not surpris- 
ing that those who want the Bible to 
teach so, or who do not believe its 
teachings, should look to their going 
out of the world with terror. In view 
of the last struggle, when the soul 
and body separate, enough is seen to 
make such an experience frightful. 

Most of my young readers have 
doubtless observed what a dreadful 
change is made in the body when it 
dies. Take the case of an infant, and 
notice how death makes its little eyes 
glassy and sightless, and hides them 
under the eyelids. The cheeks lose 
their roses, and are pale and cold. 
Its pretty fingers, and arms, and its 
whole body become stiff, and in a few 
hours are so much altered, that we 
put them into a coffin and cover them 



THE BKAZEN SEKPENT. 43 

deep in the earth. But this is not 
perishing, although it comes as near 
to it as anything can be brought, by 
what is called death. It is true that 
this precious human deposit will, in a 
little while, so disappear, that if we 
open the grave where it was laid, we 
shall find nothing more of the body 
than a very small heap of ashes re- 
maining in the box in which it was 
buried. At length, even this little 
pile of human dust will be gone, and 
nothing visible remain of what was 
buried, any more than if it had never 
existed. And do you ask me where 
it has all gone, or what has become 
of it? The lighter elements of the 
body can find a way of escape from 
the coffin, though closed as tightly as 
was that of Alexander the Great, in 



44 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

the celebrated city of Egypt, which 
was named after himself, Alexandria. 
I do not know that all which learned 
men have written on this subject is 
true, nor that you could understand 
them, if I were to quote what they 
say, and which is commonly believed. 
But science tells us, that water makes 
up two-thirds of the body of man, as 
well as of the more perfect animals ; 
and of the remaining third, only a 
very small portion belongs among 
those substances which are disposed 
to a solid condition: that animals and 
vegetables are made of nearly the 
same materials, only put together in 
different proportions. This, you will 
say, is incredible; and yet it is proved 
by many experiments. To some of 
these is given the name of gases, 



THE BEAZEN SEEPE1ST. 45 

which are particularly described in 
works of chemistry. 

As both animals and plants are all 
nourished from the earth, so the sul- 
phur, iron, and other substances which 
are found in the soil, are taken into 
their systems, become flesh and blood 
in the one case, and vegetable matter 
in the other. This will help to ex- 
plain why it is that the shallow mould, 
of a few inches in depth, which covers 
the earth, and out of which all the 
generations of men, animals, insects, 
and plants are successively formed, 
appears, from age to age, to be the 
same. These animal and vegetable 
creatures do not perish, but, after 
their short period of life in an orga- 
nized form, return to the earth, are 
dissolved, mingle with it, become a 



46 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

part of it, and are afterwards made 
again into new creatures, that live 
upon the soil, as others did before 
them. Hence there is quite as much 
truth as poetry in the lines, 

" There's not a dust that floats on air 
JJut once was living man." 

It is this constant process of creatures 
going down into the earth, and com- 
ing out of it again, to form other and 
similar bodies, which prevents any 
increase of the deposits of decay and 
death on its surface. Even in the 
oldest countries on the globe, where 
two hundred generations of men, and 
five hundred of domestic animals have 
lived and died, the mould becomes no 
thicker; and why? Because the ma- 
terials of which the buried dead are 
formed, after being dissolved, changed, 



THE BEAZEN SEEPENT. 47 

and separated into extremely small 
particles, rise through the earth that 
is over them, and help to fill the great 
storehouse from which its whole sur- 
face is renovated. Thus the bodies 
of men, beasts, reptiles, and insects, 
the trees, fruits, flowers, and foliage 
now enjoying life on earth, are, to 
some extent, of the same composition 
with that of the generation who lived 
in the days of Abraham. There is 
much mystery, we must confess, about 
this subject of death, and this evapo- 
ration of the body afterwards, not- 
withstanding all that learned men, 
and, more especially, inspired men, 
have told us. But it is enough for 
us to know, that at the time appointed 
by God, its essential parts will all be 
gathered together, and will be formed 



48 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

into a more glorious body than the 
former, yet retaining all those proper- 
ties which are necessary to make it 
the very same. All this is wonderful, 
and beyond our comprehension; but 
not a whit more so, the apostle Paul 
says, than is the dying, dissolving, 
and rising of a kernel of wheat. The 
only reason why we are so little af- 
fected by the latter, is because of its 
being so familiar. 

One meaning of the word perish, 
then, as applied to our bodies, is that 
they are dissolved, and are invisible 
for a time. It does not imply that 
they will never live again, nor that 
they will never be united again, each 
to its respective soul. 

How this gets out of the body at 
death, is just as mysterious as how it 



THE BEAZEN SEKPENT. 49 

ever got into it, or in what part of the 
body it dwells. Nor do any of us 
know in what direction it goes at 
death, in order to find the place of 
final abode of either the righteous or 
the wicked. The Bible tells us only 
that it cannot die, and is not put into 
the grave with the mortal part, but 
that it goes somewhere, either to the 
societj 7 of the blessed in heaven, or to 
the dreadful home " prepared for the 
devil and his angels." And it is the 
wretched state of the latter to which 
the Bible refers, when it is called, in 
one place, a dying of the soul, and, in 
the term which we now explain, its 
perishing. The reason why this word 
is used, is that nothing gives us such 
a striking picture of a lost soul's con- 
dition, as the suffering of the body 



50 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

when it is enduring its last mortal 
agonies. Then the eye becomes fixed 
in its socket, the bosom heaves, the 
heart labours, and the breath is drawn 
with increasing difficulty, until it 
stops with a gasp so frightful, that 
nothing out of the world of despair 
strikes the senses with so much hor- 
ror. 

But the word " perish," signifies 
not the severity of future suffering 
only, but its duration, both of which 
we are now taught, are endless, for 
they are mentioned in contrast with 
4< everlasting life." I know that such 
a truth is dreadful beyond the power 
of our minds to conceive, and many 
hesitate ever to mention it, especially 
to persons so young as you are. The 
thought of being for ever separated 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 51 

from the society of the pious and 
happy, of having our eternal state 
among the vilest that have ever lived 
on earth ; to be where that hopeless 
man was, who saw Abraham and 
Lazarus from beyond a great and im- 
passable gulf, is enough, as Mr. Bax- 
ter says, to turn our brain and drive 
us to despair, did the Bible reveal to 
us nothing more ! Then we might 
well hide it not only from children 
but from everybody else, as suited to 
do them no good, and only to begin 
their torment before the time. But 
when such painful truth is taught us by 
the Saviour himself, who, like a tender 
physician, never causes needless suf- 
fering, and informs the patient of his 
danger only to tell him how to escape, 
we should not be backward to repeat 



~)2 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

it to any. Nor am I afraid that you 
will be injured by what is taught con- 
cerning your danger, if you will give 
proper attention to an infallible way 
of escape, which the Saviour himself 
ascribes to the love of God. " God 
so loved the world that he gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish 
but have everlasting life." 



THE BBAZEN SERPENT. 53 



CHAPTER III. 

We read that the old Romans, at a 
certain period of their history, were 
living in a state of contented submis- 
sion to military oppression. On one 
occasion, one of the bravest and best 
among them, hinted to a certain phi- 
losopher very privately his intention 
of trying to set them free. The sage 
remarked that the work would be a 
glorious one, but that " the people had 
become too debased to deserve their 
freedom, or ever to thank anybody 
who would risk his life to recover it." 
But this noble-minded patriot so loved 
5 * 



54 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

his brethren in their pitiable state 
that he was willing to do so, neverthe- 
less. This old philosopher spoke the 
common sentiments of the world about 
favours shown to the unworthy, as 
my young readers will all find out 
before they become as old as their 
parents now are. They will discover 
that few persons are ever moved to 
make sacrifices so much from love 
to others as from love for themselves. 
Many will seem to be friendly and 
willing to help forward your interests 
just so long as they can make you 
useful in promoting their own. Others 
love those who have shown love for 
them by doing them favours. 

But the Saviour w r as not influenced 
by any such motives as these. As 
the brazen serpent was lifted up in 



THE BKAZEN SERPENT. 55 

the wilderness for those who were 
in a state of rebellion at the very 
time that Moses did it; so the " only 
begotten Son" of Grod was moved by 
love to save those who hated him. 
We have never read elsewhere, of any 
who so loved their enemies as to be 
willing to lay down their own lives 
to save them, and of very few that 
would do it for their friends. 

There is a story told of two young 
men, who lived more than two thou- 
sand years ago, under the government 
of Dionysius of Syracuse. One of 
whom, for no good reason, was* con- 
demned to death. Wishing to get 
the tyrant's leave to go home and ar- 
range.the affairs of his family before 
his execution, he promised to return 
and let him take away his life at the 



56 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

appointed time. The other pledged 
himself to the king, that, mean- 
while, he would go to prison in the 
place of his friend and suffer in his 
stead, should he fail to keep his word. 
In due season, however, he came back 
as he had agreed, but not to lose his 
life. The hard heart of Dionysius 
was so much affected by the exhibi- 
tion of such love, that he remitted the 
punishment, and entreated them to 
receive him to their confidence, and 
permit him to share in their friend- 
ship. It is rarely that we hear of 
such love as this between friends. 
But " God commendeth his love to- 
wards us," in that, while we were ene- 
mies, Christ died for us; in which both 
the kind and degree of love so far ex- 
ceeded not only what men have seen, 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 57 

or are able to conceive, that the Bible 
does not attempt to describe it. We 
are left to imagine what sort of love 
it was, and how great, from what he 
was led to do. " God so loved the 
world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son" And when we read, in another 
place, of the manner of his death, that 
he was nailed to a cross, between two 
thieves, it becomes very plain that we 
can measure this love of Christ only 
so far as we can comprehend the dig- 
nity of his character, and the great- 
ness of his sufferings. It is a mys- 
terious and awful subject, children, 
and above the conception of my mind 
and of yours. But it is enough for 
us to know, that had the whole race 
of man perished, what they would 
have endured for ever would have 



58 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

been less, in God's sight, than what 
was borne by Christ, of his own ac- 
cord, in their behalf. 

Some of my readers will ask, per- 
haps, if this putting of the Saviour in 
the place of others were just. How 
could it be consistent with the right- 
eousness of God to give his Son to 
suffer at all; and especially in a man- 
ner so shameful and cruel, when he 
was purely innocent? This is a ques- 
tion which none w r ould have been able 
to answer, had not the Sufferer told 
us that he did it of his own accord; 
that his life was not taken from him 
against his own will, but that he laid 
it down of himself. " I have power/' 
he says, "to lay it down, and I have 
power to take it again." A man of 
wealth may volunteer to take from 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 59 

prison a penniless neighbour who has 
been confined there for debt. At the 
same time, he answers another ques- 
tion, which is as often asked as the 
former. For what sort of persons, or 
for how many, did he give his life? 
Just as great a number, the passage 
tells us, as believe on him. They are 
not taken from any particular class in 
society, nor condition, nor age, but 
all are saved who have a certain quali- 
fication called faith, of which I have 
already spoken briefly, but which I 
purpose to explain more fully in my 
next chapter, where I will endeavour 
to show in what way it saves from 
perishing. 



60 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Many persons believe in what they 
read of Christ, just as they do the ac- 
count of Pontius Pilate, of Herod, and 
of Judas Iscariot ; or as they believe 
the history of Paul, of Richard Baxter, 
or Robert Raikes. They do not doubt 
that it is all true, because the facts 
are mentioned in credible history. 
But they do not feel that they have 
any more concern with these men 
than if they had never lived. Or 
they believe in Christ just as ignorant 
people believe in the worth of learn- 
ing, which they never try to get ; or 



THE BKAZEN SEKPENT. 61 

as sick people believe in their need 
of a physician that they never send 
for. 

But the faith in Christ, by which we 
are saved, is always attended not only 
with love, but with a desire to be like 
him, and to keep his commandments. 
It makes us sorry for, and careful 
to avoid, every thing that displeases 
him. It gives a person such an opinion 
of himself, of his danger and his guilt ; 
and such a sense of his helplessness, 
that he has no hope of escape from 
perishing but by him. He depends 
on Christ to keep his soul from perdi- 
tion just as much as Simon Peter did 
to save him from going to the bottom 
of the lake Gennesaret. 

In a town of Germany, called Saal- 
feldt, many persons used to be em- 

6 



62 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

ployed in working mines. This led 
them to dig deep holes or shafts, as 
they are called, for the purpose of 
raising the ore; and some of them 
went so far into the earth that a rope 
as long as the tallest steeple would 
not reach to the bottom. When all the 
ore had been taken out of a mine they 
sometimes covered the mouth of the 
shaft with planks, and houses were 
built over them. One of these shafts 
was in the cellar of a house in which 
lived a widow with her daughter, a 
child about seven years old. 

One summer day the mother sent 
the little girl to bring something out 
of the cellar, but just as she was tak- 
ing it into her hand, the plank laid 
over the hole, on which she was 
standing, gave way, and with a scream 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 63 

she sank into the pit. Her mother 
hearing, as she thought, the shriek 
of her child, took a candle, and went 
at once into the cellar. Finding the 
mouth of the hole uncovered, but her 
child not there, she was so agitated 
that her whole body trembled, and 
she was near falling into the pit after 
her child. Half distracted as she 
was, however, she ran out from her 
house and called together her neigh- 
bours. They came and looked into 
the dark shaft, but knew not what 
they could do to help her. 

But while all were standing around 
in a state of deep distress, a voice was 
heard calling out from the darkness 
below. 

" Oh ! help me ! help me out, 
quick ! quick !" 



G4 THF BRAZEN SERPENT. 

A hook on one side of the shaft, to 
which in former days a ladder had 
been fixed, had caught her sash while 
she was falling, and by this the little 
girl was hanging. But how to reach 
and save her from perishing in the 
fearful pit, no one could contrive. 

At last there came to the place an 
old man who, without promising to 
save the child, determined to try. He 
began by digging carefully at the 
mouth of the hole in order to make it 
wider. After this, he brought a 
miner's windlass and bucket, and 
although he said very little, it w r as 
seen that he was praying to himself. 
So soon as all things w r ere ready, he 
got into the bucket with a miner's 
lamp and told them to let him down 
slowly and with great care. 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 65 

The child saw the light drawing 
near her. She lifted up her little 
hands, and at the same time a jug 
which she had got in the cellar, fell 
out of them, descending from rock to 
rock into the depth below. Those who 
stood at the mouth of the pit were 
full of fear, but spoke not a word. 

The old miner was soon so near 
the child that she could see him. He 
spoke to her, tried to cheer her, told 
her to keep herself quite still, for 
with the help of Grod he hoped to 
save her life. But now the hole be- 
came more and more narrow, and the 
old man was afraid that he would not 
be able to pass the child without 
brushing against her, and perhaps, 
casting her into the deep pit below, 

so to be dashed upon the rocks. The 

6 * 



66 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

danger was so great that lie gave a 
sign to those above not to let him 
farther down. 

He then let clown a rope with a 
noose at the end, through which she 
put her head and arms, and was soon 
lifted up a little. Raising her very 
gently, she was at length able to touch 
the bucket with one hand, and then 
with the other, although she could not 
2*et in it. At that moment the hook 
by which she had so long hung gave 
way, and fell into the pit. But the 
old man was enabled to keep fast hold 
of the rope, until he had lifted her 
into the bucket with himself, when he 
called out to the people above — 

" Thank Grod with me, I have got 
the child!" 

Had the hook been torn from the 




THE SAVED CHILD. 



p. 66. 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 67 

wall but one moment before, the child 
would surely have been lost. But 
that was prevented by God's good- 
ness, and this beloved daughter was 
preserved to her widowed mother, to 
be the more dear to her now, as one 
that had been restored to her alive 
from the grave. When I first read 
this thrilling story, it seemed to me 
scarcely less wonderful in its inci- 
dents, than instructive in its lessons. 
And were an artist to sketch them 
with a pencil, I would write beneath 
the picture the words of the evangelist, 
in John iii. 16, which it is so well 
suited to bring to our remembrance 
and illustrate. Like this little child, 
the whole of our race are in the 
greatest possible peril of sinking into 
a pit — but not one in the earth, in 



68 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

which we should suffer the loss only 
of our lives. The dreadful pit over 
which we are suspended is bottom- 
less, in which we are in danger of 
perishing, both body and soul, for 
ever. The hook on which she was 
supported, may remind us of the 
providence of God, that keeps us 
alive in the midst of so many dan- 
gers and so much frailty. The kind 
service of this pious old man, with 
his windlass, rope, and bucket, may 
make us think of the means of grace, 
which are to be used with earnestness 
and prayer; while her grasping of the 
rope is to teach the meaning and ope- 
ration of faith. It is such a seizing 
of Christ with the affections of our 
hearts, such a confidence in his will- 
ingness and ability to save, and such 



THE BRAZEN SEEPENT. 69 

a despair of being saved in any other 
way, as this little child manifested 
when she cried, " Help ! oh, help !" 
or when she laid hold of the cord let 
down from the bucket, as the only 
way of escape from perishing in the 
awful depth below. 

But although I have only begun to 
tell you of the interesting truths which 
are taught in this passage, I must not 
take the time to mention any more, 
but pass on to the most important 
part of my work, which is to show 
my young readers how very import- 
ant these words of Christ's are to 
them. 



JO THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 



CHAPTER V. 

Doubtless many of you arc chil- 
dren of pious parents. In a little 
while they ^vill be called out of the 
world by death ; and while you are 
following their dust to the grave, with 
weeping eyes and breaking hearts, 
their happy spirits will be with that 
blessed Redeemer by whom they were 
saved from perishing. But what will 
become of you, who are soon to be 
laid in the grave yourselves, but are 
unprepared to enter that holy, happy 
place, which is open only to believers? 
The thought of parting from parents 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 71 

at death, often gives you the deepest 
sorrow; but what if this separation 
should be for ever? What if some 
of you should continue to disregard 
their affectionate counsels, disobey 
their commands, choose the company, 
and follow the example of those wicked 
children who break the Sabbath day, 
use profane words, and tell lies ? Or 
if you even go to the Sabbath-school 
and the church, yet pay no attention 
to what you hear, and are worse, a 
great deal, perhaps, than many chil- 
dren who have no religious instruction 
at all. I know that you all expect to 
go to heaven, at last, although you 
are not prepared for it now. But you 
intend and expect to become pious 
when you grow to be men and women, 
or when you get sick or old. 



72 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

My clear young friends, if you could 
look into the world of despair, how 
many youth would you see who have 
perished, because they felt as you feel, 
and did precisely as you are doing 
now! They meant to he saved, and 
follow their godly parents and friends 
to heaven, but they put off the prepa- 
ration too long. An early and unex- 
pected death cut them down, and they 
were lost. Some of them were killed 
by what are called accidents ; they were 
shot by mistake, run over by a horse, or 
railroad car, were poisoned, drowned, 
fell out of a window, or were carried 
off by some disease, and were lost for 
ever. I beseech you, then, my beloved 
reader, to take warning from them. 

Remember your Creator in the days 
of your youth. Call on the Saviour 



THE BKAZEN SEKPENT. 73 

for help, as earnestly as the little girl 
of whom I have spoken, did to her 
.friends. You will then surely find 
his hand stretched out to save you. 
But if you feel such great fear, when 
you think of your danger of perishing, 
how grateful should you be when your 
mind turns to the love of Christ, who 
takes this fear away ! And is it not 
wonderful, that when we can be so 
thankful for the little favours that 
our parents, friends, and neighbours 
sometimes do us, we can think of and 
feel so little our obligations to Christ? 
Many years ago, when most of our 
Western States were a mere wilder- 
ness, and held by the Indians, a 
Frenchman fell into their hands, 
whom, for some reason that I do not 
recollect, they resolved to burn. 



/4 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

Having made the usual prepara- 
tion of pitch, faggots, and larger wood, 
they tied him to a tree, and were about, 
to apply the fire, when a white man 
to whom the Indians were very friend- 
ly, came near. Perceiving what they 
were about to do, he entreated them 
to stop, and spare the poor man's life. 
To this they consented, for a certain 
present, in the form of a ransom. 
The joy of the rescued man was inex- 
pressible, and although he never 
thought of the providence of God in 
sending the man to rescue him from 
this cruel death, he did not forget the 
friend that saved him. They both 
lived manv vears after this, and were 
settled in places very far apart. The 
Frenchman's home was in Canada, 
and his deliverer's in a distant part 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 75 

of the United States, yet his kindness 
was never forgotten. Every year, it 
is said, this grateful man was accus- 
tomed to visit his benefactor, always 
taking some present as a visible token 
of his gratitude to one who had been 
the instrument of saving his life. 

Such a sense of temporal favours is 
very pleasing, and shows an affection- 
ate, generous, and noble heart. But 
how mournful is it that a man pos- 
sessed of so many excellent qualities, 
who made so just an estimate of the 
value of his life, and of the kindness of 
his preserver, should have thought so 
little, or not at all, of the Redeemer of 
his soul. But the world abounds in 
examples of such inconsistency and 
folly, which both illustrate and im- 
press the Saviour's solemn declara- 



76 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

tion that, " the children of this world 
arc in their generation wiser than the 
children of light." We see it among 
the most refined and enlightened, the 
learned and honoured, as well as 
among the ignorant and despised, 
the things most sought and cared 
for, are those which are seen and 
temporal, while few can be allured or 
urged to seek those which are not 
seen and eternal. 

When the armies of Prussia, 
Austria, and Russia were engaged 
with the armies of France under Na- 
poleon, the three kings were posted 
upon a height about two miles dis- 
tant from the battle, out of danger, 
but in sight of its progress. Their 
anxiety, mingled with fear, was almost 
too great to be endured, but the vie- 



THE BEAZEN SEEPENT. 77 

tory at last was on the side of their 
arms, though the dust and smoke of 
the fight made it impossible for them 
to see it. But when a messenger, 
galloping with full speed to the top 
of the hill, announced the result, the 
Emperor of Austria burst into tears, 
then immediately getting off from his 
horse, he put his hat and sword upon 
the ground, fell on his knees, and 
w r ith a loud voice returned thanks to 
God. The kings of Prussia and Rus- 
sia followed his example. At the 
same instant, several officers in attend- 
ance, and the whole guard, all kneeled, 
and for several minutes remained 
in perfect silence, as if in the act of 
secret thanksgiving. Then followed 
a shout of more than a hundred grate- 
ful voices, "The Lord is with us!" 



78 THE BRAZEN SERFENT. 

" The Lord is with us !" These illus- 
trious men could acknowledge the 
merffv of God in saving their honour 
and their thrones, but what was such 
a deliverance, however great, com- 
pared with that which the " w r isc and 
the mighty and the noble" have too 
generally disregarded — the amazing 
salvation of the gospel? And how 
surprising that any one can read of 
the love of Christ for us, without sin- 
cerely loving him ! The only wonder 
is, that they who hope in his salva- 
tion can think of anything else. 

History tells us that Cyrus, in one 
of his wars, made a captive of the 
j'oung prince of Armenia, with his 
beautiful and blooming wife whom he 
had just married. When they were 
both brought before him, Cyrus asked 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 79 

the prince what he would give to be 
set at libertv, and be restored to his 
kingdom. 

" As to my own liberty and my 
crown," said he, with great apparent 
indifference, "I care but very little. 
But if Cyrus would be pleased to give 
my beloved princess her liberty and 
her hereditary possessions, I would 
exceedingly rejoice." And then, with 
great tenderness of manner and sin- 
cerity, he added, "For her, I would be 
willing to give my life." 

The answer greatly pleased Cyrus, 
who at once bestowed freedom, not 
upon these royal captives only, but on 
all the Armenian prisoners ; and by 
this act of generosity caused emotions 
of joy in their bosoms that they 
wanted words to express. Some 



80 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

praised his personal beauty, some his 
courage and military talents, others 
his humanity and kindness of heart. 

u And you," said the prince, ad- 
dressing himself to his bride, " what 
did you think of him ?" 

" What did I think ?" said she ; " I 
have not thought of him at all. I 
did not even look at him." 

11 Is this possible ?" said he, " and 
pray where were your eyes and your 
attention directed ?" 

" They were fixed on that dear and 
generous man who said he cared little 
for his own liberty, or life, but would 
cheerfully sacrifice both for the sake 
of procuring mine." 

That was an answer worthy of a 
princess, and which clearly showed 
that admiring husband, that every 



THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 81 

tender and affectionate sentiment of 
his heart was understood and an- 
swered by hers. 

What then should be the feelings 
of our hearts towards that Friend who 
not only offered his life, but gave it 
up a cheerful sacrifice, " that whoso- 
ever believeth in him should not per- 
ish, but have everlasting life ?" 

Did we realize the half of what we 
owe to him, would not every earthly 
object of affection disappear and be- 
come invisible, as did the personal at- 
tractions and regal honours of Cyrus 
to the captive Armenian queen ? 

Should we not exclaim with all the 
devotion of Asaph, " Whom have we 
in heaven but thee, and there is none 
upon earth that we desire besides 
thee?" 



82 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

Lot children bless the Saviour's name, 
And sing his wondrous grace ; 

"Who from the realms of glory came, 
To save our sinful race. 

Though he was rich, in heaven above, 

Prom all eternity ; 
He left his greatness out of love 

For sinners such as we. 

The poorest child is scarce so poor 
As Jesus Christ became; 

When, our salvation to procure, 
lie bore our sin and shame. 

A manger, for his cradle bed, 
Received him at his birth ; 

He had not where to lay his head, 
Though Lord of heaven and earth. 

Lord Jesus ! while we sing thy grace, 

We love thee and adore ; 
But when in heaven we see thy face, 

Our souls shall love thee more. 



LITTLE ELEANOR, 



I cannot impress the foregoing re- 
marks on the nature of faith better 
than by giving my young readers an 
illustration of its power in the case of 
a very dear child of one of my friends, 
from whose lips I received it. The 
venerable parent has "entered into 
his rest," since he gave me the affect- 
ing account, and has doubtless found, 
in some mansion of his " Father's 
house," the beloved spirit whose early 
removal was so afflictive, 

83 



84 LITTLE ELEANOR. 

It was in a pleasant village on the 
Hudson, in the State of New York, 
where the father was pastor of a large 
and prosperous congregation, that lit- 
tle Eleanor, this child of early grace, 
was born. So soon as she was old 
enough to speak intelligibly, she was 
sent to school for three months, when 
she made only so much progress as 
to be able to spell words of two let- 
ters. An attack of disease at this 
time made it necessary to take her 
from the school ; and so serious and 
prolonged was her illness, that she 
was kept at home nine months. After 
a few weeks, however, she had so far 
recovered as to be able to sit up in 
bed, and amuse herself with the toys, 
and especially the little books with 
which she was abundantly supplied 



LITTLE ELEANOE. 85 

by many kind friends. One day, 
when sitting with one of them in her 
hand, on which her eyes were intently 
fixed, it was observed that her coun- 
tenance was lighted up with an ex- 
pression of great pleasure, which was 
shortly followed by a hearty laugh. 

" What do you find in your book," 
said her mother, " w T hich is so amus- 
ing?" 

"Why, I was laughing at this 
story?" 

" But you cannot read," replied' her 
mother. 

"Indeed I can," said she, and im- 
mediately proved it by reading, from 
" Nursery Rhymes," the story of the 
"Cowardly Boy," without hesitation 
or mistake, to the end, while every 
one present listened with amazement. 

8 



86 LITTLE ELEANOR. 

It was the first time that her parents 
or friends knew that she had made 
any progress since she had left her 
school. No one had taught her, nor 
had she asked assistance; but her 
active and inquisitive mind had ad- 
vanced, without an instructor, from 
the first step above the alphabet, to 
the reading of large and useful books. 
On going back to school, she was very 
studious, and made so great profi- 
ciency, as to be the subject of common 
remark. But of all the days in the 
week, none was so delightful to her 
as the Sabbath, and no lessons were 
studied more faithfully than were her 
preparations to meet her teacher in 
the Sabbath-school. 

On New Year's day she received a 
Bible, which was read through in four 



LITTLE ELEANOR. 87 

months, and then put into the library 
of the school ; for much as she valued 
it as a present, she gave it away, in 
order that it might be used for the 
benefit of others. She was accustomed 
to commit to memory a verse every 
morning before breakfast, and was so 
fond of the Scriptures, especially of 
the New Testament, that she learned 
the first four books so accurately, that, 
had they been lost, she could have re- 
peated every verse, not the meaning 
only, but the words, to any one who 
had wished to print them. It was 
not known to her parents when her 
heart was renewed by the Spirit, for, 
like little Samuel, she seemed to be 
sanctified from her birth. It could 
never be recollected when she was 
not lovely in her disposition, obedient 



88 LITTLE ELEANOR. 

and conscientious. So soon as she 
could read, she manifested a prefer- 
ence for books that were useful and 
good, and especially for hymns and 
narratives that related to the Saviour. 
Her conversation, and use of what 
she read, gave evidence that the books 
were understood, and were often made 
profitable to others, as well as to her- 
self. 

A poor old woman in the village, 
who was blind and supported by 
charity, was an object of Eleanor's 
special attention. Long before it was 
known to others, she had been in the 
habit of visiting, and reading the 
Scriptures, and other religious books, 
to this afflicted servant of Christ, who 
was greatly edified as well as enter- 
tained by the visits of her little friend 



LITTLE ELEANOR. 89 

and comforter. For an aged man 
who sat near her in the church on the 
Sabbath, but was too deaf to hear the 
preacher, she was accustomed to find 
the chapter that was read, the hymns 
and the text; which led him to say 
after her death, that "if Eleanor had 
been eyes to poor Aunt Peggy, she 
bad been ears to him." Her great 
humility was shown in her unwilling- 
ness to have her acts of kindness and 
piety known. Not even her parents 
nor any of the family were made ac- 
quainted, till after her death, with 
much that she did for the relief of the 
poor, and instruction of the ignorant. 
In her visits to the sick she would 
sometimes exhort them with the ut- 
most tenderness and anxiety; quoting 

and applying the Scriptures with sur- 
8 * 



90 LITTLE ELEANOR. 

prising propriety, so that one of her 
grateful beneficiaries used to say that 
" Eleanor was her little doctor and 
minister too." A striking trait in 
her character was love for the truth. 
Nothing could tempt her to prevari- 
cate or deceive, no matter what the 
consequences to herself or to others. 

But in the midst of all these serious 
labours for the welfare of the igno- 
rant, sick, and afflicted, Eleanor pre- 
served the simplicity and mirthful 
air of a child. She was cheerful 
without levity, and could entertain 
with her playful and often witty con- 
versation, without impairing, in the 
smallest degree, the confidence of any 
in her ardent piety. Her sense of what 
was absurd and ridiculous in others, 
was remarkably quick anddiscriminat- 



LITTLE ELEANOE. 91 

ing, and yet, so perfect was her self- 
control, that she was never known to 
give pain by her severe remarks on 
their follies, however strong the temp- 
tation ; and hence her capacity for 
retort and sarcasm was scarcely 
known, as it was kept under such con- 
stant and complete restraint. Such 
was the active and useful life of this 
youthful believer, until her labours 
of piety were arrested by disease in 
her tenth year. The fever, with 
which she was laid upon her bed, was 
not so severe at first, as to cause any 
serious fears about its result. Her 
mind was not affected, and she could 
receive and send messages of love, 
and express in various ways, her in- 
terest in the objects that had engaged 
her attention while she was in health. 



02 LITTLE ELEANOR. 

She manifested no anxiety about the 
result of her sickness, though it was 
inferred from some of her remarks 
and arrangements that she did not 
expect to recover. Thus, on one oc- 
casion, during a remission of her 
fever, she requested that all her tracts 
and books should be brought to her, 
when she gave directions to have 
them distributed in such ways as she 
supposed would make them most use- 
ful. Some were sent to persons for 
their own benefit, but most were put 
into the library of the Sabbath-school. 
This little service she performed with 
great self-possession, and, as was sup- 
posed, under an impression that she 
had for ever done with them herself. 
In this way, she desired to bequeath 
her little treasures, as she was leav- 



LITTLE ELEANOR. 93 

ing the world, in order that they 
might do good when she was gone. 

In all her sickness she was patient 
and resigned, willing to live, if it 
should please Grod to restore her, and 
willing to die if it did not. Her heart 
was full of love to all around her, as 
well as to her Saviour, whose name 
and praises were often on her lips, 
repeated in her conversation, and 
sung in her hymns. Her inquiries 
and remarks were as edifying as they 
were affecting ; and always evinced 
that her mind was occupied with 
meditations upon " things above." 

Much of her time was spent in 
prayer, which, though offered up in 
silence, was accompanied sometimes 
with audible expressions of gratitude 
and thanksgiving to her " precious 



94: LITTLE ELEANOR. 

Saviour," and acknowledgments of 
her obligations to his u unspeakable 
grace." Towards the close of her 
sickness she had seasons of occasional 
delirium, when her expressions, though 
incoherent, all referred to the same 
subject, and showed that " Christ and 
his cross were all her theme." No- 
thing was omitted w T hich a skilful 
physician and kind friends could do 
to restore her to health : but in spite 
of all their efforts, her malady gra- 
dually advanced till the close of the 
third week after her attack, when, 
without a single fear or doubt, she 
fell asleep. 

Such, dear children, is an inade- 
quate sketch of the character, exer- 
cises, life, and death of a beloved 
child, many of whose relatives still 



LITTLE ELEANOR. 95 

survive, and who retain all the cir- 
cumstances, and more than I have 
written, in fresh remembrance. May 
such an exemplification of the power 
of faith on the heart of one so youth- 
ful be instructive to all who read it, 
especially to you, my young friends, 
to whom, though dead, she yet speaks 
with peculiar power and tenderness. 
Let it constrain you to look, without 
delay, to him whom the brazen image 
typified, and who is peculiarly near 
to them who seek him early. Yes, 

" To him at once, dear children, come, 
For he hath said you may, 
His bosom then shall be your home, — 
Your tears he'll wipe away, 

" For all who early seek his face 
Shall surely taste his love ; 
Jesus shall guide them by his grace 
To dwell with him above." 



THE BASKET BOY, 



I had intended to close my little 
book with the example of Eleanor; 
but her instructive story has brought 
to my mind another, which will not 
less affect the hearts of my youthful 
readers, I think, than it has my own. 

" Do you see that house ?" said a 
friend with whom I was walking, 
some time ago, in a city of New 
England. He was pointing to a poor 
building in an obscure street, that 
was evidently inhabited by persons 

96 



THE BASKET BOY. 97 

in the humblest condition of life. 
" There is now just breathing his last, 
under that roof," said he, "one of the 
most afflicted men I have ever known. 
A few years ago, he was one of our 
wealthiest citizens, and had a large 
and lovely family, all of whom have 
died but his broken-hearted wife. A 
succession of calamities, which no hu- 
man prudence could prevent, has 
stripped him of his large estate; and 
he is dying, without property enough 
to pay the expenses of his funeral. 
He has manv friends who remember 
his prosperous days, when he was in 
circumstances so much better than 
their own, and who have contributed 
some things, in a delicate way, to his 
support, during his prolonged sick- 
ness ; but his chief dependence was 



98 THE BASKET BOY. 

upon his only surviving child, a most 
affectionate and pious little son, not 
twelve years old, until within a short 
time, when this darling boy was also 
taken away by death. Though too 
young to understand and appreciate 
fully the trials of his beloved parents, 
yet he often noticed the sadness of 
their countenances, and their frequent 
tears. Supposing that their chief dis- 
tress proceeded from their poverty 
and unsupplied wants, ' Never mind, 
father,' said he, as one day he was sit- 
ting at his bedside, ' never mind, I 
w r ill take care of you.' Ah, little does 
the dear child know the source or the 
depths of our sorrow, thought the fa- 
ther, or his inability to bring relief. 
But it was not an exclamation of 
childish feeling, which was forgotten 



THE BASKET BOY. 99 

as soon as he had given it utter- 
ance. He really believed he could 
earn the means of their support, and 
he resolved to try. Through the 
kindness of his friends, he had occa- 
sionally received small sums of money 
to be expended for himself. These 
he had laid by, it seems, for a better 
purpose; and they now furnished him 
a little capital for his proposed busi- 
ness as a peddler. Without asking 
counsel of any one, he resolved to 
invest it in useful articles, and go 
about the citv to sell them. Such 
employment was not in good repute, 
on account of the many idle and 
vicious boys who dealt in toys and 
worthless books, which the moral and 
pious did not wish to buy. But while 
the baskets of others were filled with 



100 THE BASKET BOY. 

trash, little Charles determined to try 
to counteract their mischief by selling 
things that would be useful. But his 
great desire was, to connect this labour 
for the welfare of others, with the 
relief of his afflicted parents. To 
those who knew their condition and 
the motives of their child, it was 
affecting to witness the cheerfulness 
and perseverance with which he pro- 
secuted his fatiguing work ; with what 
modesty he made the offer of his 
goods ; and the patience and meek- 
ness with which he submitted to the 
rebuffs and sneers of the unfeeling. 
By most, however, he was treated 
with kindness, as it afforded them a 
convenient opportunity of rendering 
assistance, without seeming to give it 
in the form of charity. But much as 



THE BASKET BOY. 101 

these gleanings of their child were 

needed, and greatly as the hearts of 

the parents were comforted by such 

a token of affection, yet the very 

thoughts of it were often too painful 

to be endured. Again and again 

they would have interposed their 

authority or their entreaties, and 

caused him to stop, preferring the 

alternative of extreme want, or public 

alms, to relief obtained in such a way. 

But little did they imagine how soon 

their affectionate benefactor w r as to 

be arrested in his work by Providence. 

Their humble residence was near the 

river, in which were often floating 

fragments of timber, logs, boards, &c, 

which Charles would intercept, and 

pull to the shore for fuel, and often 

at no little hazard of his life. One 
9 * 



102 THE BASKET BOY. 

day observing a large log floating 
down the river, he resolved to secure 
it by means of a very long pole. 
The prize was almost obtained, and 
he thought it in his power, when 
reaching a little too far, he lost his 
balance and fell into the stream. 
Every effort was made to rescue him, 
but in vain. He sank to the bottom 
as if he had been lead, and was not 
found until his life had departed; and 
all that was taken home to these bro- 
ken-hearted parents was his corpse. 
It would seem that their cup of sor- 
row had been full before. Every 
other child had been taken from 
them. They had been stripped of 
property. The father was sinking 
rapidly under an incurable disease, 
and now by a sudden and unlooked 



THE BASKET BOY. 103 

for calamity, they are deprived of this 
most useful and interesting as well as 
only child. Nothing could be more 
mysterious than this event to all who 
knew it, and the sorrow it produced 
extended far beyond the circle of 
those who were particularly bereaved. 
It was scarcely credible that the fa- 
ther, so reduced by disease, could 
survive the shock, but the gracious 
hand that had smitten was now ex- 
tended to uphold and support. The 
sudden and premature removal of 
this almost idolized child, w r as instru- 
mental, it is hoped, in preparing the 
parents to follow him. It was not 
long before the father's sufferings 
ceased on earth, and his spirit went, 
I trust, to the society of the 'just 
made perfect,' which his beloved 



104 THE BASKET BOY. 

child had entered a few months be- 
fore him." 

Such is the account given me of this 
interesting child, and though it makes 
one sad to read its distressing termi- 
nation, yet the incidents of his short 
life furnish much for parents as well 
as children to reflect upon with pro- 
fit. There is not less to be learned 
from the various afflictions and sub- 
mission of the parents, than from the 
pious conduct of their son. What an 
affecting illustration of the uncer- 
tainty of wealth, and of the ease with 
which it often escapes out of the hand 
even of the economical and diligent, 
who are active in the use of all judi- 
cious means to preserve it ! We see 
that in spite of all that we can do to 
keep our riches, they " will make 



THE BASKET BOY. 105 

themselves wings and fly away as an 
eagle towards heaven." A person in 
England, who had a sum of money 
left him to distribute in charity, had 
applications made for a share of it 
from no less than thirty persons who 
had ridden in their own coaches. 
How surprising that any should be 
anxious to obtain what is so easily 
lost, and which, if kept, is the source 
of so many temptations ! 

The case of this afflicted family will 
suggest to many the same thoughts 
that troubled the mind of Asaph. 
The inequality in the condition of 
men, and especially the trials of the 
pious, almost made him doubt the 
equity of God's government, or 
whether there was any government 
over men at all. "I was envious at 



106 THE BASKET BOY. 

the foolish," he says, " when I saw 
the prosperity of the wicked. They 
are not in trouble, as other men, nei- 
ther are they plagued like other men." 
JNior did he find relief till he was 
taught, from the sanctuary, to look 
beyond the present life to the future, 
when the ways of Grod, so mysterious 
now, shall be explained. It doubtless 
appeared unaccountable to others, 
and perhaps to the parents them- 
selves, that their lot in life should 
have been so severe, but the reasons 
were all disclosed so soon as they en- 
tered the light of eternity. 

And what a beautiful pattern of 
filial piety is this lovely child ! How 
touching his juvenile efforts to com- 
fort his father, and wipe away his 
tears! "Never mind/' said he, " I 



THE BASKET BOY. 107 

will take care of you." How unlike 
the conduct of those heartless and 
undutiful children who forsake their 
parents in the time of trouble, and 
feel no sympathy in their sorrows ! 
who are ashamed of their poverty, 
and mortified by their plainer dress 
than that of other children, and seek 
the company of the vicious and rude ! 
It is a sad mistake to suppose that 
any are disparaged by the wise and 
good merely because they are poor. 
None who knew the parents of this 
little basket boy loved or respected 
him less on account of the reverses of 
his family. Indeed they honoured him 
the more for his independence, and 
disregard of the opinion of the proud, 
by betaking himself to such an hum- 
ble employment in the city of his 



108 THE BASKET BOY. 

birth, and among his acquaintances. 
It was an instructive, as well as af- 
fecting spectacle, to see him offering 
his little stock of wares at the doors 
of the wealthy, among whom his fa- 
ther once had a position as an equal. 
And when the business of this young 
hawker was ended in this sudden and 
distressing manner, the common sor- 
row of the people evinced how much 
they respected, as well as loved him. 
Such was the short life of this in- 
teresting child, and so early and un- 
looked-for was his death. And can 
any of the youthful readers of his 
story notice the delightful influence 
of early piety as exhibited in him, 
and not desire^fchafc they may share 
in its advaiAagps? 
\ 




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